Take Care
by WinterSong971
Summary: Spirit will always be there to take care of his younger partner, but does Stein realize that? Series of fics over time describing their relationship.
1. Young Spirit and Stein: How things were

**Hi everybody, this is just a little story about Stein and Spirit (NO SLASH!), there will be more if you like it so please fav/follow/review. Two chapters will come out, so look for my next one soon. Enjoy :)**

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Young Spirit and Stein, a normal morning

* * *

It was a beautiful day, and a certain brilliant meister and precise weapon had decided to walk to school. As they took a shortcut through the park, the fresh air was filled with the sweet smell of grass, and relaxing sounds of birds chirping. Spirit was lost in though as he walked, just enjoying the cool breeze and warm sun, and didn't notice when his younger partner slipped away. Seing a strange bird on the ground next to a bench eating seeds, the young scientist had decided to go investigate it in his own special way. He quickly walked over to it, whipping out his razor sharp tools quickly, and knelt down by it with purpose. Just as he was preparing a syringe full of an unknown clear liquid and eyeing the unknowing bird he was about to dissect, he heard a loud scream. With that, Spirit was brought back to reality, and looked around to see what his meister had done this time.

"No Stein, no!"

As Spirit ran up to the child on the ground, his red hair bouncing with every step, the woman continued to scream. "Whose child is this? This is insane, what is he doing- Oh, oh my!" Stein had turned toward the lady, wide grin on his face, still holding the sharp tools. "Don't you dare come near me!" Her shrill voice cut through the air like a scalpel.

Stein looked up from his position on the ground, gleaming tools still in hand, "What's wrong, senpai?" He asked innocently as Spirit appeared by his side.

Spirit shook his head. "You can't do that." Stein still looked confused. He pulled Stein up from the ground and brushed off his now dirty lab coat, trying to tune out the borderline hysterical woman. "Now let's get to school." Spirit turned to the woman, trying to look sincere, "I'm very sorry, it's hard to keep my... brother under control." The young scientist looked up and giggled. "Let's go." He hurriedly pulled Stein behind him. "I don't know how I always end up looking after you." He muttered to the air as they continued their journey to Death Weapon Meister Academy.

* * *

A few months later, on a mission

* * *

"That was close!" Stein said out loud as he dodged the quick slash of a sword blade, and loosely held his weapon in his hand.

Their only remaining opponent, a large and muscular man with a long scar on his forehead, wielded his two swords and charged Stein. He expertly dodged twice and, after noticing a waver in the man's soul wavelength and a hole in his defense, went in for the final blow with unnerving precision. The man went down with a yelp, and stayed there. His scarred soul hovered on the ground, and Spirit quickly reverted back to human form and gobbled up the soul.

"That makes 26" Spirit said happily. "We did very well." Stein shrugged, his mind already moving from the recent excitement and wandering to an experiment that was waiting for him in his laboratory. "Is something wrong, Stein?" Spirit was concerned about his partner's strange silence.

"No, senpai. We did it well just like the other ones." He paused, still thinking about the experiment. "I was just thinking about some good work I have back at the lab." A smile started to creep over his face.

"You and those experiments..." Spirit shook his head. "It's really unhealthy to obsess over those twisted things." He shuddered slightly at the thought of what his younger partner thought of as good work.

Suddenly, Stein felt a soul's presence and tensed up. The wavelength was nothing special, but he could feel something else. He looked around, sure that it wasn't a threat, but still wanting to be sure. As he realized that the soul was full of hate, he yelled out. "Spirit, watch out, there is a-"

"No! Stein!" Spirit interrupted, and roughly pushed his meister out of the way and on to the ground. Stein watched as Spirit stood over him, protective as always. He had just blocked a powerful swing of a heavy axe with his arm, which had turned into the smooth dark blade of a scythe. Spirit looked at his opponent with a calculated gaze, a wiry man already covered with blood and sweat. "Looks like we missed one." He said coldly, and then before his opponent could move at all he cut him down with one brisk stroke. Now that the last man standing was gone, Stein pushed himself up from the hard concrete floor and brushed himself off as Spirit devoured the small soul.

"Senpai, thank you, but..." Stein looked uncomfortable "I can look after myself." The meister look at the ground and shuffled his feet.

Spirit laughed lightly, "I'll always end up looking after you."

Stein saw that his weapon was gingerly holding his left arm, and silently approached. The shorter weapons technician gently grasped his partner's arm and examined it. After the sudden movement, dark blood oozed out of it between Spirit's fingers, and he cringed. Spirit looked at him with surprise and tried to pull away, "Don't you dare..." He began, worried about what the insane boy was thinking of doing, but Stein shook his head solemnly. Before Spirit knew it, the gash in his arm had been painlessly cleaned. He watched as Stein stitched up the wound with quick, confident movements, and carefully wrapped it with clean bandages. Spirit looked up at his meister, surprised at how gentle and kind he could be.

"We are partners, after all." Stein said softly before turning around and walking back to his lab.


	2. Spirit and Stein: Things never change

**Hi everybody. Here is the second (and last) chapter of Take Care. If you like it, or have CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, please review. As always, if you like it there will be more, and if you see a problem I will try my best to fix it. Enjoy :)**

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The Death Scythe checks up on Professor Stein

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"Stein?" Spirit cautiously opened the old door of his old partner's laboratory. He was slightly nervous; it had been quite a while since he had been there. "Is anybody here?" He called out louder this time. Shinigami-Sama had asked him to look after the meister, but that didn't make it any easier to come back.

Taking a deep breath, the red head pushed open the heavy steel door and entered the dark, foreboding lab. He took extra care as he maneuvered around the heavy tables laden with test tubes, papers, and containers of chemicals and tried not to inhale the familiar and disturbing aroma of chemicals and mold. After making his way across the large concrete room he sighed with relief.

Spirit jumped slightly as he heard a loud cough coming from the corner of the room. He tried to make his way over to the sound in the dark, fully aware of the amount of dangerous tools and chemicals that were present in the lab.

"Stein-kun, is that you?" His former meister said in a hoarse voice. He pushed himself away from his messy desk and rolled across the dusty concrete floor on his desk chair.

"Yeah..." Spirit looked around, slightly lost in the dark, hoping to find a light switch somewhere. "Shinigami-sama asked me to check in with you."

Stein looked at the older man, his pale green eyes glimmering slightly in the dark. "Well?" He asked, looking up expectantly." I'm here."

"Are you alright?" The concern in the weapon's eyes was clear. "When was the last time you left here, or even turned on a light?" By then, he had found what he hoped was a lamp and was attempting to turn it on. Spirit succeeded, and a small light sprung to life.

Stein squinted in the sudden harsh light, and tried to turn it off. "Ugghhhhhhh, no!"

"Stein, you look terrible!" In the flood of cold florescent light, Spirit could clearly see his old partner. There were dark circles under his eyes, his pale silver hair was plastered to his head, and his sallow skin shimmered with sweat.

Stein started to reply, but a coughing fit took him over. He gasped for air, and clutched his chest as he waited for it to pass. Spirit started to run up to him, but he waved his hand to keep him away. "No... I'm... Fine." He rasped between coughs. After a few long minutes, the coughs subsided and Stein leaned back in his chair, looking tired.

"No you're not. Are you sick, do you need anything?" The weapon walked forward and put his hand on Stein's shoulder.

"No, I'm not sick. It's just the cigarettes." He paused in thought, "Cigarettes..." And felt around in his pockets for a pack and a lighter. Pulling out and lighting a cigarette, he looked back to an exasperated looking Spirit, expectantly saying "I'm fine, you can leave."

The death scythe sighed and left. Stein let his head drop and took took a drag of the cigarette. He closed his eyes and smoothed back his unkempt silver hair, hoping for the nausea and headache to subside. Vaguely aware that the cigarette had slipped out of his thin fingers, he let fatigue and dizziness take him, and quickly fell asleep.

Stein woke up suddenly, feeling the large presence of Spirit's soul. He squinted his eyes, trying to make out just what he was doing coming back to Patchwork Laboratory. He swiveled around in his desk chair but, losing his balance as he edged away from the still bright light, fell backwards onto the floor. He looked up to see Spirit standing over him, hair slicked with rain. "Spirit, what are you doing back here?" Stein's voice was so weak the weapon could barely make it out.

"I am here," he dropped a small bag on the floor next to him, "to make sure you get better. I know you won't take care of yourself." He walked over to the scientist that was sprawled out on the floor and helped him up.

Stein smiled weakly and started to reply, but another round of coughing took him and he doubled over, wheezing and gagging for air. "Come on..." Spirit muttered as he half dragged the sick man to the couch and threw a thick blanket on him.

While Stein laid on the couch, half dazed, his former weapon kept busy. Spirit made a hot, sweet cup of tea and set it next to his former partner and then tried to find a way to make the disturbing laboratory a little warmer. Remembering how warm Stein had felt, he went down several dark halls in an effort to find a thermometer. Stein drank the tea, which was a relief to his dry painful throat, and soon fell asleep to the sound of the death scythe walking around.

The professor woke up to a cool, strong hand on his pale forehead. "Hmmm" his eyes fluttered open and he squinted up to see his former weapon staring down at him.

"Here." Spirit thrust a thermometer into Stein's limp hand. "You probably still have a fever."

Stein looked down at the thermometer, then back up at the weapon. "You look worried." He said flatly.

"I am." Spirit replied before pointing to the thermometer and walking away. Stein coughed softly and resigned himself to follow the weapon's motherly instructions. Spirit came back in a few minutes to take the thermometer. He frowned as it read 102.2 degrees. "How do you feel?" He spoke gently.

"I'm fine Sendai. Now let me sleep." Stein buried his face in the soft blanket and rolled over on the old, worn couch and smiled to himself. He knew that as long as Spirit was there, he was taken care of.


	3. The Mad Professor and Death Scythe

"Maka! No... I'm... Maka's papa!" Spirit wailed, tears and snot dripping down his face as he watched his daughter turn her back on him again. Stein was no longer Spirit's meister, but he still felt slightly responsible for him. It was a very foreign feeling to the brilliant scientist, genuinely caring about somebody other than himself. He had been nearby, watching the whole spectacle with detached interest. As with most of his experiences, he found it mostly disgusting, but he thought experience with people might be useful for future queries. After seeing that his only friend was still floundering in self pity, Stein savored one last drag of his cigarette and departed from his perch on the park bench. As Maka left her father, Stein walked up to him. The whole scene reminded him of the days of Kami; Stein dragging Spirit's sorry ass back home to keep him out of trouble.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up." Stein bent down and picked up his former weapon with surprising ease. Death Scythe let himself go limp in the younger man's arms, no longer caring about what judgements he was currently passing. As soon as the doctor began to drag him like a rag doll, he picked up his feet and followed in silent compliance.

"But... Maka..." He sniffled, babbling at the air. "Whyyyyy?" Stein cut him off with a sharp sigh. He had a strange feeling growing in his chest. Their current situation was reminiscent of all their debacles when they were still students. Some time between their fights, graduation, and work, Spirit had stopped speaking to him. The doctor tried to take mental notes on this novel feeling, for later investigation.

His attention was brought back to the present situation when his old partner tripped over his own feet. With lightning-fast reflexes he caught him, getting more than a little whiff of alcohol in the process. No wonder Maka left, he bitterly thought to himself, It's only 4pm! "Spirit! What were you doing, drinking on a Tuesday?" Spirit halted at the sudden demand, and tried to edge away. Every time the doctor got like this it was bad news for everyone around. "Well?" Stein shook him by the collar.

"Geez, I was just having a celebratory drink for Maka!" Stein shook his head. "She has been doing so well in school. I just..." Stein realized he would have better luck conversing with a beaker of drugs and hurried his friend back to the laboratory. Upon entering, Spirit gasped. "Not a thing has changed!" He chuckled to himself before plopping down on the familiar stitched-up couch. He craned his head back to talk to Stein, only to find him rummaging around in a kitchen that looked like it survived an earthquake.

Listening to the banging sounds of pots and pans, he let himself drop back into a laying position. He stared at the ceiling for a good minute before realizing how strange it was to be back to the doctor's lair. He probably doesn't get much company now. Maybe at work he has some colleagues he talks to. Yeah, totally... Stein knew he was kidding himself and gave up on the internal argument. He was so lost in thought he didn't notice Stein speed towards him in a rolling office chair, armed with a cup of black coffee that he promptly set down on top of a stack of papers and textbooks.

"Coffee." Stein said bluntly.

"I can see that." Spirit grabbed the cup eagerly and looked up at his former meister. "Thank you." He looked at the floor and took a sip of coffee. Stein had a small smile on his face; maybe he enjoyed the company. Or maybe not. He slid a notepad out of a pocket on his lab coat and looked at Spirit impatiently. "What?"  
His train of thought was cut off by the overwhelmingly urgent feeling that he needed to find a trash can. Fast. He looked up as the doctor slid a large metal bin across the concrete floor. He rolled up on his chair and began taking notes.

* * *

About 15 minutes later

* * *

"Why would you do that? Do you hate me?" Spirit's face was turning red, and it wasn't from alcohol this time.

"No, I was helping you! What better way to sober somebody up than to-" He was cut off by an enraged howl.

"But NOBODY wants that!"  
"Also, I had to test it out and you were right there. It's a win-win situation!" Stein smiled evilly.

Spirit's face was still a tad green. "Nobody wins but you, as usual..." Stein opened his mouth to retort but Spirit wasn't done. "It's this kind of thing that make people leave!"  
That was too much. He could tell by the doctor's expression. "I see how it is. It was only a SUCCESSFUL procedure to speed up your recovery." He spoke coldly and analytically now.

"Stein." The Death Scythe looked down. "You know..." But he was gone.

He came back, quickly walking with a stack of flimsy sheets which he dropped on the unrecognizably messy coffee table. "Here. You should stay for observation. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen." He lit a cigarette and left, muttering about notes.

* * *

Later that night

* * *

What a mess, Spirit thought as he picked his way through the disheveled kitchen. The guilt came back when the nausea had worn off, and he wanted to make it up to his old partner. If he hadn't changed much, as Spirit had correctly guessed, Stein would still be living off of snacks and coffee. He opened the refrigerator and ignored the petri dishes and mysteriously labeled containers. Assuming/hoping nothing was poisoned, he found enough ingredients to make spaghetti. If not even a warm meal couldn't cheer up the doctor, he was sure he wasn't human. While he cooked, he thought of all the late nights he had spent in the very same kitchen. They weren't a bad team, not bad at all. When they were studying late at night, they always had an unlikely meal of popcorn and coffee. He chuckled to himself. How times have changed, or not.

"Stein?" He peered across the laboratory floor, sure that the mad man was lurking somewhere out there. "I made dinner." Like a magic charm, he stepped into the pool of light and sat down at the small dinner table. It was for one person, but they both dragged up chairs. Handing Stein his plate, Spirit couldn't help but grin at the hungry look in eyes upon smelling fresh food. After properly wolfing down the first real meal he had eaten in weeks, Stein spoke up.

"Next time don't hug her. Or drink. Or try to convince her to come back." He said it with a straight, expectant face.

"What?" Spirit look up, surprised.

"Maka. When you hugged her, her expression changed. She doesn't like the..." He tried to find the right word. "Intimacy."

Spirit looked down. "I'm such a failure as a father."  
"If you were, she wouldn't be doing so well. You said it yourself, she is very successful at school."

"Well, I guess so." Spirit flashed a grateful smile. "You know, it's strange to be back. Nothing has changed."  
"If something is good, I don't see a need for change." Was Stein's reply.

After the meal was finished, Stein washed the dishes and the two sat down again. They talked late into the night, catching up and reminiscing about the good old days. It was almost like their all-nighters back when they were students.

The next morning, Spirit woke up on the couch. Stein was flopped over in his office chair, silver hair falling into his face and wrapped in his white coat like it was a blanket. He turned to leave when Stein's notepad caught his eye; it must have fallen out while he slept. He bent over to pick it up, smoothing the crumpled pages. The doctor's usual scrawl covered the pages, something that to this day only Spirit could read successfully (it had made a great party trick back in the day). At the bottom of the page, Spirit read "Conclusion: Next time- have coffee and popcorn"


End file.
